AIB's the Lab- Dundrum

Has anyone seen AIB's 'the lab' in Dundrum?

Is it just me or does it seem like one hell of a waste of money from a bank that is pretty much state owned.

On top of that they have put advertising boards for the lab on every car park space in the place (at least on that level anyway)

As far as I can see it serves no purpose whatsoever;

There is already and AIB branch in Dundrum
There are a rake load of cash machines in the Shopping Centre
People have intenet banking on their phones now so I doubt anyone calls in to use that service

Between refit, rent, fancy machines and staff as well as advertising this place must be costing a fortune to run

Not sure I agree. More banks should do it to be honest if they want to go down the technology route. I know of a couple of older customers who never used bank cards because they were afraid to and found it very helpful in there to see how laser cards work without having to do it in a crowded branch. My mother even learnt how to bank online in there. And trust me, I wouldn't of had the patience to show her!

Also if the bank is testing new technology, it is probably cheaper and more efficient to test the customer experience in a setting like this than having AIB staff do it in house. I don't have any issue with it to be honest. Bigger wastes of money than that.

rustbucket said:

Has anyone seen AIB's 'the lab' in Dundrum?

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What is AIB's 'the lab'?

ajapale said:

What is AIB's 'the lab'?

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[broken link removed]

Sunny said:

Not sure I agree. More banks should do it to be honest if they want to go down the technology route. I know of a couple of older customers who never used bank cards because they were afraid to and found it very helpful in there to see how laser cards work without having to do it in a crowded branch. My mother even learnt how to bank online in there. And trust me, I wouldn't of had the patience to show her!

Also if the bank is testing new technology, it is probably cheaper and more efficient to test the customer experience in a setting like this than having AIB staff do it in house. I don't have any issue with it to be honest. Bigger wastes of money than that.

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The point is there is no new technology offered. It is nothing new

They provide access to internet banking, self service banking and mobile banking.

All of the above can be done already in your local branch or at home and there is already a branch in Dundrum. Each branch has customer services that are already trained in all this stuff anyway and can show customers

I would seriously doubt that anyone goes to Dundrum shopping centre with the sole purpose of finding out how to use online or mobile banking

rustbucket said:

The point is there is no new technology offered. It is nothing new

They provide access to internet banking, self service banking and mobile banking.

All of the above can be done already in your local branch or at home and there is already a branch in Dundrum. Each branch has customer services that are already trained in all this stuff anyway and can show customers

I would seriously doubt that anyone goes to Dundrum shopping centre with the sole purpose of finding out how to use online or mobile banking

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Only about 50% of people use online or phone banking facilities. Just because you do doesn't mean everyone else wants to or is able to. Dundrum shopping centre has footfall of around 15-20 million people a year. Dundrum village doesnt get that. The facility is open 7 days a week. If it gets a small percentage of existing AIB customers to switch to electronic banking methods or showcases AIB technology to other customers then good luck to it. No need for you to worry. If it is not justifying its existence, the bank won't be long closing it down.

Permanent TSB have something similar in Blanch. It's very common in other countries as well.

As for doubting if people go to Dundrum to find out about banking, they probably don't. However, people often buy things in shopping centres that they didn't plan to.